Saturday, April 8, 2017

Git Along Down The Road

Abilene Kansas – the home of the
Chisholm Trail, land of cowboys and cows. It is a tiny little town,
I didn't see any cowboys or cows. I did talk to a guy who had 200
head though – don't know if that counts. Lucky for me, the
Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Library had just opened a new
exhibit about the Chisholm Trail and the cattle drives. One year,
600,000 cattle came through Abilene. Wild Bill Hickcock was a
sheriff here and John Wesley Hardin was a deputy sheriff. I learned
all about cowboy fashion, a subject that I guess I was woefully
ignorant about. This was an exhibit well worth viewing.

I have a fondness for Presidential
Library. They have a tendency to make men very big and wonderful no
matter how little they might actually be. I, in no way, mean to
imply that Dwight David Eisenhower was one of those little men. We
all know who I am probably referring to and we will just leave it at
that.

I watched the obligatory movie about
Eisenhower's life and then I toured his boyhood home. He was one of
seven boys and since there were no girls, Ma Eisenhower made sure all
her boys could cook, clean and sew. Eisenhower wanted to go to the
Naval Academy but ended up at West Point where he fell in love with
tanks. He was an infantry guy through and through. The museum was
really heavy on Eisenhower's war experiences, I suppose rightly so as
he was the Supreme Commander of the Army and was in charge for the
D-Day invasion.

This house was actually considered to be on the wrong side of the tracks in Abilene. I think it is lovely.

I found the exhibits about his
Presidency to be much more interesting. Maybe that was because I
lived through those presidential years and the war was before my
time. Eisenhower's years were the Cold War years, the fifties. The
years where we all learned that in case of nuclear attack, we huddle
under our school desks and put our hands over our head. The museum
touts the fact that one of the primary accomplishments of his term
was the fact that he kept the peace.

I found the exhibits on Mamie Doud
Eisenhower to be eye opening. Who knew that she was named one of the
ten best dressed women in the nation not once but ten times. And
those bangs – don't get me started on her bangs.

Picture from the web

Across the street from the Eisenhower
complex was the Greyhound Hall of Fame museum. As you enter this
museum, you are greeted by Gary and Ginger, the two resident
greyhounds. Such sweet, gentle creatures. The museum was almost
totally about greyhound racing – sort of a soup to nuts discussion
about racing. They showed the greyhound breeding farms, the training
and then the actual racing. I would have liked to see something more
about the greyhounds themselves – their temperament, how they do as
pets – the day to day type of things.

Old Gary is in the back - he really couldn't be bothered. Ginger was much more the socialite

So far on this trip, it has been three
days of rain – solid rain. I can travel in the rain, but winds –
not so much. The forecast was for gusts building up to 40 miles an
hour during the day. I got up at 6:00 AM – yes, you read that
right. My one troublemaker tire was low again, but luckily I was
right across the street from Bob's Tires. I swung over there and
they diagnosed my issue – my stem extender was loose. Tightened it
up, filled with air and I'm on the road.

My site at Covered Wagon RV Park - charming......not - but great wifi.

I drive for three hours and get to
Larned, Kansas. I am really glad that I didn't have to drive any
further than that – the winds were getting strong enough to knock
you over. I had planned to stay at Camp Pawnee, a small county park,
but with the three days of rain and parking on the grass, I was
worried that I would sink in and have to be pulled out. Besides
that, there was only one other camper there and first impressions was
that I would not be comfortable there. So, I ended up at an
overpriced parking lot in the Rodeway Inn. It was good for the
night, although totally lacking in charm.

I was here to visit Fort Larned. Fort
Larned is a national site – a fort from the late 1800's. It's sole
purpose was to guard the Santa Fe Trail. Typical Fort, Typical
Junior Ranger Book. The rangers were wonderful here – when I told
them I had a dog with me, they said I could bring her in to all of
the buildings. They were breaking the NPS rules!!!!! They were Alt
Rangers!!!!! They were fun to talk with about a variety of
conversations everything from Fort Larned to Nazi war trials and
prisons.

Check out those clouds

I wandered on down the road. Perhaps I
should say that as of right now, Oklahoma has my award for having the
worst roads in the nation. I've been down the east side and also the
west side of the state and the roads are atrocious. Although, I do
have to say that there is not much to see in Oklahoma so it became a
great sport to weave down the highway avoiding the massive potholes
that occur every few feet.

About Me

Retirement is grand!! I'm sorry I waited so long to get started on this phase of life. I used to travel all the time but then I got involved in the world of Icelandic Horses. That took up all of my time and money. I still have a couple of horses. I'm now trying to fit husband, horses and extended travels into the very limited 24 hours of the day. As so many others have said....how did I ever have time to work?